Telescopic tool support

ABSTRACT

A telescopic tool support comprises a seat having a first top wall and two opposite first sidewalls, a top cover at least partially enclosing the seat and having a second top wall and two opposite second sidewalls, and an adjustable locking device adapted to couple the top cover to the seat, wherein the adjustable locking device has at least one locking tab, at least one engagement-actuating device, and at least one coupling device. The at least one coupling device couples or decouples the seat and the top cover by at least one locking tab preferably resiliently connected to the seat. The at least one engagement-actuating device is moveable between an unlocked position and a locked position, and is configured for, when it is at said locked position, enabling the coupling of said coupling device under the aid of said locking tab so as to have the top cover and the seat engaged at a desired coupling location; and for, when it is at said unlocked position, enabling the decoupling of said coupling device so as to allow the sliding of the top cover with respect to the seat. When the at least one engagement-actuating device is at the unlocked position, the tool support can be telescoped so as to adjust the accommodation size, and when the at least one engagement-actuating device is at a locked position, the top cover cannot move with respect to the seat such that the accommodation size of the tool support is maintained.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a size-adjustable telescopic toolsupport comprising a seat and a top cover, in which the top cover ismoveable with respect to the seat to adjust the accommodation space ofthe telescopic tool support, so as to carry tools of various sizes.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A tool support known in the art conventionally comprises a box providedwith a fastener disposed on the outer surface of its top cover to fixhand tools of a specific size to the fastener and align them with eachother, such that it is convenient to display, take out and carry thehand tools. However, the size of the conventional tool support cannot beadjusted, such that it can only be used for storing hand tools ofspecific sizes. Hand tools that do not match the size of the toolsupport cannot be properly stored/supported.

Under the circumstances, if the user only has a tool support of a fixedsize that can accommodate specific combinations of tools and he/she wishto store/carry tools of other sizes for the hand tool with a lengthsmaller than that of the tool support, the accommodation space of thetool support may be too large compared with the size of the hand tool,thus causing a waste of space; and for the hand tool with a lengthgreater that of the tool support, the accommodation space of the toolsupport may be too small compared with the size of the hand tool, andthus cannot carry the hand tool properly. If the user wishes to carry acombination of various hand tools, it is needed to prepare several toolsupports of various sizes so that hand tools can be stored/supported inappropriate tool supports.

In view of the above, various sizes of tool supports should bemanufactured to accommodate different packages of hand tool sets, andthis inevitably results in the addition in manufacturing processes andcosts.

In this regard, carrying hand tools of various sizes by using a singletool support is an important task to be achieved by the presentinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention discloses a tool support comprising a seat and atop cover, in which the top cover at least partially encloses the seat,and can be moveably adjusted with respect to the seat to extend orretract the entire accommodation size of the tool support so as toaccommodate various sizes of hand tools.

A telescopic tool support according to the present invention comprises aseat, a top cover partially enclosing the seat and being slidabletherewith, and an adjustable, telescopic locking device adaptable fornot only engaging the seat and the top cover but also locking theengagement at a desired coupling location.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, theadjustable, telescopic locking device has at least one locking tab andat least one engagement-actuating device. The at least one locking tabis disposed on the seat, and separated from the top cover. Theengagement-actuating device is disposed on the inner side of the atleast one locking tab. A coupling device is provided between the atleast one locking tab and the top cover, and particularly, the couplingdevice is in the form of a toothed structure consisting of at least onetooth on said at least one locking tab and a corresponding rack on thetop cover. The at least one tooth and the corresponding rack can beengaged with each other. With the engagement-actuating device, the atleast one tooth on the at least one locking tab can be pushed to engagewith the rack of the top cover to avoid the top cover to slide withrespect to the seat. When the tool support is to be extended orretracted back, the engagement-actuating device should be unlocked firstso as to allow the top cover to be adjusted to the required position;and when the engagement-actuating device is locked, the top cover andthe seat are fixed together.

The above engagement-actuating device can be in the form of a latchingdevice, an eccentric engagement-actuating member, a supporting rod, anelastic engagement-actuating ring, or the like, which enables thecoupling device between the seat and the top cover.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the telescopic lockingdevice has at least one locking tab which is disposed on the seat andengaged with said top cover. A coupling device is provided between saidat least one locking tab and the top cover, and particularly, thecoupling device is in the form of at least one tooth on said at leastone locking tab and a rack of the top cover at the correspondingposition of the at least one locking tab. The at least one tooth and therack can be engaged with each other, such that the top cover is fixed tothe seat and will not slide relatively. When the tool support is to betelescoped, an external force is applied to the at least one locking tabto bend the same inward, such that it is separated with the top cover,and at this time the top cover can be adjusted to a desired position.After the external force is removed, the at least one locking tab can bereturned to the engaged state, such that the top cover and the seat arefixed with each other and will not slide with respect to each other.

In order to avoid the locking tab to be fatigue or broken due to theover bending, a stopper is disposed on the inner side of the locking tabto prevent the locking tab from being overbent. It can be appreciatedthat those skilled in the art may think of some other alternatives toprevent the locking tab from being overbent without using the stopper.

In the above two embodiments, the coupling device can be disposed on theside surface or top surface of the top cover and the seat, and thecoupling device is not limited to the combination of tooth and rack.Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the coupling device is usedfor engaging purposes and can be easily modified to accomplish thepurposes of the present invention.

With the present, multi-section adjustment of a tool support can beachieved to meet the accommodation requirement of hand tools of varioussizes. The accommodation size of the tool support can therefore bereduced to facilitate carrying. The telescopic tool support of thepresent invention can also be arranged with other tool sets to form anew tool kit, or be placed in a bigger tool set.

The features of the present invention can be better understood byreferring to the accompanying drawings and the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a telescopic tool support of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2A is another exploded view of the tool support;

FIG. 2B is a partially enlarged view of a sleeve of the tool support;

FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C are schematic sectional views of the exemplaryimplementations of the locking tab connected to the seat;

FIG. 3D is a three-dimensional schematic view of FIG. 3C;

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D are schematic sectional views of the toolsupport in the retracted and extended states;

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of a local structure showing theadjustable locking device to be disposed on the side surface of the toolsupport;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic sectional top views of another embodimentof the engagement-actuating device;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic sectional side views of a furtherembodiment of the engagement-actuating device;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are schematic sectional top views of a furtherembodiment of the engagement-actuating device;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematic sectional top views of the stopper used inthe present invention;

FIG. 10 is a combinational view of the tool support and the hand toolset; and

FIG. 11 is a reference view of the tool support combined with other toolsets.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2A, a first embodiment of the presentinvention comprises a seat 10, a top cover 20 and an adjustable lockingdevice. The top cover 20 at least partially (partly or fully) enclosesthe seat 10 and the adjustable locking device is adapted to couple thetop cover 20 to the seat 10. The seat 10 has a first top wall 11 and twoopposite first sidewalls 12, and the top cover 20 has a second top wall21 and two opposite second sidewalls 22. The adjustable locking deviceis adaptable for engaging the top cover 20 with said seat 10 and lockingthe engagement therebetween at a desired coupling location, whichcomprises at least one locking tab 13, at least one engagement-actuatingdevice, and at least one coupling device for coupling or decoupling theseat 10 and the top cover 20 by the engagement-actuating device. In anembodiment of the present invention, the at least one locking tab 13 isin the form of two locking tabs 13 disposed on the first top wall 11,with each of the two locking tabs 13 being provided with anengagement-actuating device. The hand tools can be either kept on thetop cover 20 or stored in the seat 10.

The locking tabs 13 are separated from the second top wall 21 when theyare not actuated by the engagement-actuating devices. A toothedstructure 14, preferably in the form of at least one tooth 14, isdisposed on each of the locking tabs 13 (FIG. 1 illustrates anembodiment of locking tabs 13 with a toothed structure 14 having threeinter-connected teeth connected to each other). The second top wall 21is provided with a pair of racks 23 corresponding to the locking tabs13. The racks 23 can be in the form of a toothed structure with teeththat are connected to each other, spaced with each other or grouped intosegments. The toothed structure 14 and racks 23 work as the couplingdevice which provides the engagement between seat 10 and top cover 20.The locking tab 13 can be an elastic or resilient element resilientlyconnected to the first top wall 11 or a single rigid member connected tothe first top wall 11 (see FIG. 3A to FIG. 3D). In the embodiment ofFIG. 3A to FIG. 3D, a spring member 131 is disposed between each lockingtab 13 and the first top wall 11, such that said locking tab 13 isconnected to the first top wall 11 by said spring member 131. Thelocking tab 13 can also be connected to the first top wall 11 by a pivotdevice. Preferably, an elastomer is disposed between the locking tab 13and the first top wall 11, such that the locking tab 13 and the firsttop wall 11 are elastically or resiliently connected to each other.Preferably, as shown in FIG. 3B, the locking tab 13 and the first topwall 11 can also be connected by a joint structure 132 consisting ofmale and female arcuated members, and provided with an L-shaped springmember 133. More preferably, as shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, the lockingtab 13 and the first top wall 11 can be connected by a pivot structure134, and provided with a spring 135. With the elasticity of the lockingtab 13, or the arrangement of the elastomers such as spring member andsprings, the locking tab 13 can be bent due to the external force, andcan return to the original state after the external force is removed.

Accordingly, when the locking tab 13 is in an engaging position, thetoothed structure 14 is engaged with the rack 23, such that the topcover 20 cannot slide with respect to the seat 10. In other words, thecoupling device constituted by the toothed structure 14 and rack 23enables the coupling between the seat 10 and the top cover 20 under theaid of the engagement-actuating device. When the locking tab 13 is in andisengaging position, the toothed structure 14 is disengaged with therack 23, such that the top cover 20 can slide with respect to the seat10 and the accommodation size of the telescopic tool support can beadjusted. In other words, the coupling device constituted by the toothedstructure 14 and rack 23 enables the decoupling between the seat 10 andthe top cover 20 by releasing the engagement-actuating device. It isknown to those skilled in the art that the engagement between thelocking tab 13 and second top wall 21 is not limited to the combinationof tooth and rack, and can be achieved by other coupling devices, suchas a combination of interfered tooth and rack, a combination of aprotrudent round ball and a corresponding circular hole, and acombination of a catch protrusion and a corresponding catch hole. Theexamples of the engagement-actuating device would be given in detailbelow.

Preferably, to ensure that the locking tab 13 and the second top wall 21are in an engaged state such that the toothed structure 14 and the rack23 are engaged with each other to couple the top cover 20 to the seat10, an engagement-actuating device is disposed on the inner side of thelocking tab 13 to fix the locking tab 13 in an engaged state, and toprevent the locking tab 13 from being separated from the second top wall21. Referring to FIG. 2, the seat 10 further comprises a front-end wall15 provided with two fixing holes 16. The engagement-actuating device isin the form of a latching device 30 having a sleeve 31 and a latch 32.The partially enlarged view of the sleeve 31 is shown in FIG. 2B. Asshown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, each latching device 30 is disposed on a sideof a corresponding locking tab 13, and the latch 32 can slide along thesleeve 31 between an unlocked position and a locked position. The twofixing holes 16 are disposed respectively at the front-end wall 15 withrespect to the axial direction of the latch 32. When the latch 32 is atthe unlocked position, the latch 32 is not in the fixing hole 16, andthe locking tab 13 can therefore be separated from the second top wall21, such that the toothed structure 14 is disengaged from the rack 23,and that the top cover 20 can slide with respect to the seat 10. Whenthe latch 32 is at the locked position, the latch 32 is inserted intothe fixing hole 16, and the locking tab 13 cannot be separated from thesecond top wall 21, such that and the toothed structure 14 is engagedwith the rack 23, and that the top cover 20 and the seat 10 are engagedwith each other.

FIGS. 4A to 4D are schematic views showing the steps of adjusting thedesired accommodation size of a telescopic tool support of the presentinvention. FIG. 4A illustrates the telescopic tool support of thepresent invention at a totally retracted state with a minimumaccommodation size. As shown in FIG. 4A, when the telescopic toolsupport is at a totally retracted state, the latching device 30 is atthe locked position with the latch 32 in the fixing hole 16. At the sametime, the toothed structure 14 on the locking tab 13 and the rack 23 onthe second top wall 22 are engaged with each other. Since the lockingtab 13 is locked by latch 32 and cannot be separated from the rack 23,the top cover 20 cannot move with respect to the seat 10, and thetelescopic tool support with its minimum accommodation size can be usedto store/support tools. As shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the accommodationsize of the telescopic tool support can be extended by first unlockingthe latch 32 and then moving the seat 10 and top cover 20 away from eachother. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4B, the latch 32 is moved toan unlocked position (such as by removing the latch 32 out of the fixinghole 16). At this time, the locking tab 13 can be bent inward (i.e.,away from the rack 23), such that the toothed structure 14 on theelastic locking tab 13 can be separated from the rack 23 on the secondtop wall 21 due to the nature of the resilient property, and thereby thetop cover 20 can be moved with respect to the seat 10. As further shownin FIG. 4C, the telescopic tool support can then be adjusted to adesired accommodation size by moving the top cover 20 and the seat 10away from each other until said desired accommodation size isachieved/set. As further shown in FIG. 4D, when the telescopic toolsupport is adjusted to said desired accommodation size, the toothedstructure 14 and the rack 23 are again engaged with each other and thelatching device 30 is again returned to its locked position by insertingthe latch 32 into the fixing hole 16.

FIG. 5 is a modified embodiment of the adjustable locking device ofFIGS. 1-4D which disposed on the side surface of the telescopic toolsupport. In this modified embodiment, said at least one locking tab 13is provided on at least one of the first sidewall 12, and separated fromthe second sidewall 22. The toothed structure 14 is disposed on theouter surface of each said at least one locking tab 13, and the rack 23is disposed on the inner surface of second sidewall 22 with respect tothe toothed structure 14. Preferably, the latching device 30 is disposedon the inner surface of the at least one locking tab 13 to lock theengagement of the locking tab 13 and the second sidewall 22. The otherelements are arranged in a way similar to FIGS. 1-4D.

According to a further modified embodiment of the present invention, theengagement-actuating device can be in the form of one or preferably twoeccentric engagement-actuating members 40, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B.The adjustable locking device is disposed on the side surface of thetelescopic tool support, and the one or preferably two eccentricengagement-actuating members 40 are preferably disposed on or below thefirst top wall 11. Each of the engagement-actuating members 40 has anejecting rod 41 and an eccentric pivot 42 disposed on the ejecting rod41, and can eccentricly rotate between an unlocked position and a lockedposition around the eccentric pivot 41. Referring to FIG. 6A, when theejecting rod 41 eccentricly rotates to the locked position, theengagement-actuating members 40 are adapted to push each of the lockingtabs 13 so as to allow the toothed structure 14 thereof to be engagedwith the rack 23 such that the top cover 20 cannot move with respect tothe seat 10. Referring to FIG. 6B, when the ejecting rod 41 eccentriclyrotates to the unlocked position, the engagement-actuating member 40will not push the corresponding locking tab 13, and the toothedstructure 14 is separated from the rack 23 due to the nature of theresilient property of tab 13, such that the top cover 20 can move withrespect to the seat 10.

If the adjustable locking device described previously is arranged at theside surface of the telescopic tool support, the eccentricengagement-actuating members 40 can be provided at either on the innersurface of the first sidewall 12 or on the inner surface of thefront-end wall 15 so as to push the locking tab 13.

As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the engagement-actuating device mayalternatively comprise one or preferably a pair of supporting rods 50.According to a preferred embodiment, the adjustable locking device isdisposed on the top surface of the telescopic tool support. The one orpaired supporting rods 50 are disposed to contact a predeterminedlocation (preferably at the front end) of the locking tabs 13 of thefirst top wall 11. The supporting rod 50 is adapted to move between anunlocked position and a locked position. An inwardly extending flange 17can be further provided at the lower end of the front-end wall 15. Eachof the supporting rods 50 can move between an unlocked position and alocked position around a pivot connecting to the first top wall 11.Referring to FIG. 7A, when the supporting rod 50 is at the lockedposition, the bottom end of the supporting rod 50 is engaged with theflange 17 and locked thereby. Accordingly, each of the locking tabs 13cannot be separated from the second top wall 21, and the toothedstructure 14 is engaged with the rack 23, such that the top cover 20cannot move with respect to the seat 10. Referring to FIG. 7B, when thesupporting rod 50 is at the unlocked position, the bottom end of thesupporting rod 50 will not engage the flange 17. Accordingly, each ofthe locking tabs 13 can be separated from the second top wall 21, andthe toothed structure 14 is not engaged with the rack 23, such that thetop cover 20 can move with respect to the seat 10.

Alternatively, the adjustable locking device described in the foregoingparagraph can also be disposed on the side surface of the telescopictool box. In this case, two supporting rods 50 are preferably disposedon respective front-ends of the first sidewalls 12, and the bottom endof the supporting rods 50 can abut opposite first sidewalls 12 so as topush the locking tabs 13.

Preferably, the engagement-actuating device can be in the form of anelastic engagement-actuating ring 60, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. Theadjustable locking device is preferably disposed on the side surface ofthe telescopic tool support, and the elastic engagement-actuating ring60 is preferably disposed between the paired locking tabs 13. Theelastic engagement-actuating ring 60 can provide a pushing force toactuate the locking tabs 13 to engage with respective second sidewalls22. As particularly shown in FIG. 8A, the locking tabs 13 are actuatedby the pushing force of the elastic engagement-actuating ring 60 suchthat each locking tab 13 is engaged with corresponding second sidewall22 in a way that the toothed structure 14 thereof is engaged with therack 23. Therefore, the top cover 20 cannot move with respect to theseat 10. Referring to FIG. 8B, if an external force is applied to pushthe elastic engagement-actuating ring 60 inward, the locking tab 13 isseparated from the second sidewall 22 due to the nature of the resilientproperty, and the toothed structure 14 is disengaged from the rack 23,such that the top cover 20 can move with respect to the seat 10.

FIGS. 9A and 9B relate to another embodiment of the present invention,in which the adjustable locking device is disposed on the side surfaceof the telescopic tool support. According to this specific embodiment,the two locking tabs 13 are engaged with respective second sidewalls 22.To disengage the locking tabs 13 from the second sidewalls 22,respective external forces should be applied to draw the locking tabs 13inward, such that the locking tabs 13 can be bent inward with thetoothed structure 14, thereby disengaged from the rack 23. Preferably,in order to prevent the locking tab 13 from being fatigue or broken dueto over-bending by the excessive external force, two stoppers 70 aredisposed on the inner surface of the first top wall 11. The stoppers 70are capable of limiting the movement of the locking tabs 13 when theyare bent inward to a certain extent. Referring to FIG. 9A, each lockingtab 13 and the corresponding second sidewall 22 are in an engaged statewith the toothed structure 14 engaged with the rack 23, such that thetop cover 20 cannot move with respect to the seat 10. Referring to FIG.9B, if an external force is applied to bend the locking tab 13 inward,at most to the position of each stopper 70, the locking tab 13 can beseparated from the second sidewall 22 with the toothed structure 14disengaging from the rack 23, such that the top cover 20 can move withrespect to the seat 10.

The adjustable locking device described in the foregoing paragraph canalso be disposed on the top surface of the telescopic tool support. Inthis case, the paired stoppers 70 are disposed respectively on the twofirst sidewalls 12 to prevent the locking tabs 13 from being overbent.

As shown in FIG. 10, the telescopic, adjustable tool support accordingto the present invention can be provided with a plurality of snaps 80 onthe outer surface of the top cover 20 for holding hand tools 81, 82 ofdifferent sizes. The telescopic tool support can also be adjusted to asuitable accommodation size as desired, or combined with other tool sets83, to increase the practicability of the tool support, as shown in FIG.11.

The aforementioned explanations are directed to the descriptions ofpreferred embodiments according to the present invention. Since thisinvention is not limited to the specific details described in connectionwith the preferred embodiments, changes and implementations to certainfeatures of the preferred embodiments without altering the overall basicfunctions of the present invention are contemplated within the scope ofthe appended claims.

1. A telescopic tool support, comprising: a seat (10); a top cover (20)at least partially enclosing said seat and slidable with respect to saidseat; an adjustable locking device provided between said seat and saidtop cover, said adjustable locking device comprising at least onelocking tab (13), at least one engagement-actuating device (30, 40, 50),and at least one coupling device which couples or decouples the seat andthe top cover by said at least one locking tab (13) and saidengagement-actuating device (30, 40, 50); said engagement-actuatingdevice being moveable between an unlocked position and a lockedposition; wherein: said engagement-actuating device (30, 40, 50) isconfigured for, when it is at said locked position, enabling thecoupling of said coupling device under the aid of said locking tab so asto have the top cover and the seat engaged at a desired couplinglocation; and for, when it is at said unlocked position, enabling thedecoupling of said coupling device so as to allow the sliding of the topcover with respect to the seat.
 2. The telescopic tool support asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said engagement-actuating device is at leastone latching device (30) having a sleeve (31) and a latch (32), saidlatch being slidable along said sleeve between said unlocked positionand said locked position so as to enable said decoupling or coupling ofsaid coupling device.
 3. The telescopic tool support as claimed in claim1, wherein said engagement-actuating device is at least one eccentricengagement-actuating member (40) having an ejecting rod (41) and aneccentric pivot (42) disposed on the ejecting rod, such that theejecting rod can rotate between said unlocked position and said lockedposition around the eccentric pivot so as to enable said decoupling orcoupling of said coupling device.
 4. The telescopic tool support asclaimed in claim 1, wherein said engagement-actuating device is at leastone supporting rod (50) disposed to contact a predetermined location ofsaid at least locking tab (13), such that said supporting rod can movebetween said unlocked position and said locked position so as to enablesaid decoupling or coupling of said coupling device.
 5. The telescopictool support as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one couplingdevice comprises a toothed structure (14) formed on said locking tab(13) and a corresponding rack (23) for being engaged with said toothedstructure (14).
 6. The telescopic tool support as claimed in claim 2,wherein said at least one coupling device comprises a toothed structure(14) formed on said locking tab (13) and a corresponding rack (23) forbeing engaged with said toothed structure (14).
 7. The telescopic toolsupport as claimed in claim 3, wherein said at least one coupling devicecomprises a toothed structure (14) formed on said locking tab (13) and acorresponding rack (23) for being engaged with said toothed structure(14).
 8. The telescopic tool support as claimed in claim 4, wherein saidat least one coupling device comprises a toothed structure (14) formedon said locking tab (13) and a corresponding rack (23) for being engagedwith said toothed structure (14).
 9. The telescopic tool support asclaimed claim 1, wherein said at least one locking tab (13) isresiliently connected to a first top wall ( 1) of said seat (10). 10.The telescopic tool support as claimed in claim 9, wherein an elastomeris disposed between said least one locking tab and said first top wallto provide a resilient connection between said at least one locking taband said first top wall.
 11. The telescopic tool support as claimed inclaim 9, wherein a pivot device is disposed between said at least onelocking tab and said first top wall, to provide a pivot connectionbetween said at least one locking tab and said first top wall.
 12. Thetelescopic tool support as claimed in claim 2, wherein said at least onelocking tab (13) is resiliently connected to a first top wall (11) ofsaid seat (10), said seat further comprises a front-end wall, and saidfront-end wall (15) comprises at least on fixing hole (16) for thepassing and supporting of said latch (32) when said latch (32) slidesalong said sleeve between said unlocked position and said lockedposition.
 13. The telescopic tool support as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising at least one stopper (70) for limiting the movement of saidat least one locking tab (13) so as to prevent said locking tab frombeing overbent inward.
 14. The telescopic tool support as claimed inclaim 5, wherein said racks (23) is in the form of a toothed structurewith teeth that are connected to each other, spaced with each other orgrouped into segments.